United States-Israeli strikes early on Tuesday destroyed a synagogue in Tehran, Iran’s Mehr news agency and the Shargh newspaper have reported.
“According to preliminary information, the Rafi-Nia Synagogue… was completely destroyed in this morning’s attacks,” Shargh wrote.
The synagogue was described as “one of the most important places for Khorasan Jews to gather and celebrate,” referring to the northeastern province of Iran.
Judaism is one of Iran’s legally recognised minority religions, and the country has a small Jewish community, although many members fled after the 1979 Islamic revolution. There are no publicly available official numbers, but there are thought to be a few thousand Jewish people still living in Iran.
Shia Islam is the majority religion in Iran, but the constitution recognises Sunni Islam, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity as minority sects, with each represented in parliament.
